Thailand, Myanmar visa-free agreement for signing next month

Thailand is expected to sign a visa-exemption agreement with Myanmar next month during a visit by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a Myanmar Foreign Ministry official said.



''We will sign an agreement once the Thai government has approved it. I don't know exactly when we will be able to sign but probably during the Thai prime minister's visit to Myanmar next month,'' Aung Htoo, deputy director-general of Myanmar's Asean Affairs Department, told the Myanmar Times.

The agreement approved by the Thai cabinet on Tuesday will allow Thai and Myanmar visitors mutual visa-free entry for up to 14 days if they travel by air through 23 airports in Thailand. Border crossings by land are not included.

Read the full article at The Bangkok Post.

* For nationals of Thailand and Myanmar only.

Myanmar opens its doors to foreigners

Myanmar has allowed foreigners holding its visas to freely choose to travel to the country via any of its six entry channels.



The channels cover three land border crossings in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, Tak's Mae Sot district and Ranong's Muang district and three air entry ports through Myanmar's airports in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

via The Bangkok Post.

Bumpy Road Ahead for the Thai Tourist Industry?

Thailand currently has a number of tourism related issues that many feel are critical to address if Thailand is to be able to compete against other neighbouring countries that are embracing tourism for all it is worth, such a Malaysia and Singapore.



So what are the problems that Thailand must deal with in order to compete? There are the usual concerns such a safety and the rising level of violent crime. Whilst Thailand has a population of just 1/6th that of the United States it’s gun related crime is six times higher.

On top of that we have the continuous reports of foreign tourists being mugged, scammed and raped; all of which are taking their toll on the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand.

For a tourism industry to flourish a number of key ingredients are needed; safety, friendliness, competency and above all the ability to communicate.

Of course, for this to occur, the Thai authorities and Thai people must change their attitudes towards foreign nationals. Foreign tourists should never be viewed upon as simply being cash-cows but rather as valued guests that allow Thais to learn about other cultures. Tourism, when handled by an effective Government, produces benefits not only for its country in economical terms but also in the education of it people as it promotes a wider understanding.



Currently Malaysia is ahead of the tourism numbers with approximately 25 million visitors a year compared to Thailand’s reported 22 million. Of course neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos are also concentrating on the tourist trade and as Myanmar steps into the scene the number of foreign tourists available is being spread even thinner.

There is no doubt that Thailand is at a crossroads and it has a clear choice but whether those ruling the country will sacrifice their power and wealth through their continued control is another matter but will ultimately seal the fate of Thailand as a nation and tourist destination.

Read the full article at Meebal. Worth reading as it contains links to many additional articles supporting their case for concern regarding the future of the Thai tourist industry.

Airlines Scramble to Land in Myanmar, but Visas Still up in the Air

Foreign airline companies big and small are falling over one another in a battle for landing rights in Myanmar to tap into Southeast Asia’s new and rapidly rising tourist destination.

Myanmar may still be a long way behind its neighbor Thailand in visitor numbers, but since President U Thein Sein began opening up the country two years ago, tourism has become one of its biggest businesses.

More than 20 foreign airlines now fly direct to several cities in Myanmar, ranging from the big German holiday package charter operator Condor to Thailand’s tiny Nok Air.



Major European airline companies are still hesitant about starting up services directly to Myanmar. For example, while the Middle East’s Qatar Air flies out of London to Yangon via its Doha hub base, British Airways flies to Bangkok, where passengers have to transfer to Bangkok Airways for a Yangon connection. Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi does the same out of London.

Both Singapore Airlines and its budget carrier subsidiary Silk Air connect with Yangon, vying with budget line Jetstar, which is owned by Australia’s major airline Qantas.

China Eastern Airlines and All Nippon Airways, or ANA, fly direct between Tokyo and Yangon.

Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation have launched a joint venture cargo business to and from Myanmar.

Other regional airlines now servicing Myanmar include Malaysia Airlines, Laos Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, while another major carrier using its budget subsidiary for Myanmar routes is Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, whose Dragon Air is expected to attract mostly Chinese passengers.

Another issue, according to TTR Weekly, is when Myanmar will relax its visa requirements for citizens of fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) member states.

“Although tourism is opening up, there has been no clear indication when Myanmar will comply with the Asean requirement that all 10 member states should allow visa free entry for up to 14 days for Asean region citizens,” the magazine said.

The Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board in June told a regional tourism conference in Bangkok that a review of the present rules would be made “soon.”

Read the full article at the Irrawaddy.

All you ever wanted to know about Myanmar

A quick and quirky guide on what to see, do, eat and drink in this up-and-coming Southeast Asia star.

Take a cab to town after arriving at Yangon's International Airport and you’ll quickly realize you've arrived in a place like no other.

Your taxi driver may have replaced his seat with a garden chair.

Without doubt, he’ll be wearing what looks like a skirt and chewing betel, which has turned his mouth a crimson red.

There might be a hole in the floor of the vehicle, or the steering wheel could be upside down.

It's a theme that'll continue throughout your trip.

With a lack of international brand saturation and an abundance of parks, lakes and gleaming pagodas, vibrant street life and friendly locals, Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and former capital, is a city worth getting to know before venturing elsewhere in this strange, wonderful country.

For information on Yangoon's hotels, nightlife and shops go to 'Why Yangoon is hot right now' and 'Yangoon: Colonial buildings, artisan cheese and local art'.

For information on what to eat go  to '10 meals every visitor to Myanmar should try'.

For information on Myanmar's beaches go to 'Myanmar's best beaches'.

Footnote: A recurring theme in articles on Myanmar is good accommodation is in short supply so make sure you have a rock solid reservation before travelling.

Bagan: Trip of a Lifetime

Bagan in central Burma is one of the world’s greatest archeological sites, a sight to rival Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat but – for the time being at least – without the visitors. The setting is sublime – a verdant 26 square-mile plain, part-covered in stands of palm and tamarind caught in a bend of the lazy-flowing Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) river and framed by the hazy silver-grey of distant mountains.

Rising from the plain’s canopy of green are temples, dozens of them, hundreds of them, beautiful, other-worldly silhouettes that were built by the kings of Bagan between 1057 and 1287, when their kingdom was swept away by earthquakes and Kublai Khan and his invading Mongols. Some 2,230 of an original 4,450 temples survive, a legacy of the Buddhist belief that to build a temple was to earn merit.

To read the full and informative article go to The Telegraph.

Can Burma Avoid the Curse of Sex Tourism?

Rangoon’s so-called “model shows” are hardly salacious affairs compared with the raunchy sex shows that have made Bangkok one of the world’s sex-tourism capitals. But Burmese officials and human-rights groups are worried about what could come next as tourists pour into Burma after decades of isolation.

Burmese fears are well founded. Human-trafficking networks have long operated in the country, funneling thousands of women and girls into Thailand to fuel the sex industry there, to say nothing of the many women (particularly from the impoverished border state of Shan) who voluntarily go. Many are underage and willing to sell their virginity for high prices,

Read more at Time World.